Date Night
by Luke Rules
Summary: Fic Challenge - L/L go out on a date
1. Date Night Chapter One

TITLE: "Date Night or Friendly Fun?" NAME -Sandra aka Lukerules E-MAIL -baumann1@yahoo.com  
  
SPOILERS -Up to the current show SUMMARY - Keiyra's challenge: Write a scene with Luke and Lorelai (or R/J) on a date. Requirements: They must talk. They must eat. It must be a relatively one-on-one setting (i.e., no big parties where you can throw a bunch of other characters in the mix).  
  
RATING - PG-13 PAIRING OR CHARACTER - L/L  
  
DISCLAIMER -I don't own the characters (pout) -the WB, Amy Sherman- Palladino, everyone else does.  
  
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Chapter One  
  
Friday morning - post breakfast  
  
Luke's point of view:  
  
Okay, I did it. Whoa. I asked her out. I just walked up to her one morning at the diner and said, 'Hey Lorelai, how about we go out and have some dinner and maybe see a movie tomorrow night," like it was the easiest thing in the world for me to say. Whew. And she said, "Sure, sounds good, swing by around 7?" as though we had done this a thousand times.  
  
Never mind the blank stares and gaping mouths of all the town patrons. I had to run into the back to keep from laughing at loud at their reaction. Yeah, I know they have all been waiting for me to do it, to finally ask her out. Christ, it's been years that these people have been waiting. I secretly wonder if that's the only reason they've been coming into the diner for so long, just waiting for the day I ask out the woman I've been in love with for so long. I guess if no one shows up tomorrow for breakfast, that's prove my point, right? I laugh at the thought. And Rory, the poor girl. I thought she was going to fall right off the stool.  
  
She had only recently broken up with Alex. And through the Jess-to-Rory-to Lorelai grapevine, she knew that I broke up with Nicole. She didn't know why. Hell, I'm not sure why. We were getting along great - really great. She was nice, smart, funny, sexy, there was only one thing wrong with her - she wasn't Lorelai. That thought makes me sigh. I just finally decided enough was enough. Finally just take advantage of her current very single status and go for it. But I've never been one to 'go for it' - why on earth would I still be standing here in the diner with her so close yet not 'with' her? A thousand times I've wanted to just grab her and kiss her, sweep her off her feet and take her up the stairs to ravish her and make her mine. Just the thought of that makes my palms moist and I break out into a nervous sweat.  
  
What is it that makes her have this control over me? It's obviously a family gift, seeing how Jess has completely fallen under the Gilmore spell as well with Rory. At least he had the balls to do something about it. Yet here I sit, year after year, and watch and wait. Well, no more. Here comes a new Luke Danes - ready or not Lorelai, here I come.  
  
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Lorelai's point of view:  
  
You know, just when you think you've gotten someone figured out, bam! They hit you, like Emeril or something. Luke and I were back in our comfortable flirting-slash-bickering-slash-friendly relationship and he asks me out ON A DATE. At least I think that was an ask-out. I had to double-check that with Rory, who looked twice as shocked as I did when he asked me. I thought she was going to fall right off the stool in the diner when he asked. Wow. Me and Luke. Out on a date. I know, everyone in this town thinks there's something going on between us, as well as my mother AND Max, but I just never saw this coming. And yeah, I've thought about him 'that way' once or twice, but I never really put tons of thought into it. Okay, that's not right either. I've thought about it, but only because if we got together and it didn't work out, what if, what if, what if! Argh! I even told him I hate the 'what if' part of dating!  
  
And Rory. How is she going to feel about having this person who has been so close to us all these years, like a dad to her, now, well, like a DAD to her? Will that totally freak her out? Nah, she's told me a million times that Luke has a thing for me, I don't think she'd be telling me that if she had a problem with it. After all, it's LUKE. It's not someone new that she'll have to figure out or get used to being around. Heck, she probably has a pro and con list for 'why mom should be with Luke' tucked away somewhere in her room. Oh! And Emily is going to be overjoyed to hear about this - she's been convinced about Luke for a long time now, I can hardly wait for the lecture when Rory mentions it tonight at our Friday night dinner.  
  
I just wonder why now? Why all of a sudden does he just out of the blue ask me out to dinner and a movie? Maybe his relationship with Nicole gave him some confidence that he didn't have before? Crap, I don't even want to think about Nicole. That whole relationship just bugged me. She was so perky. And Luke changed his menu for her, for HER. No, he wouldn't do that for me, but oh sure, he'd do it for her. Ga, that makes me so mad. Rory says I'm just being mad because I'm jealous of Nicole. Well, ha, Nicole is gone now and Luke is MINE! Wait! Mine? What am I thinking? Geez, I need to talk to Sookie about this before I explode. But I know what she'll say - 'I told you so' - I just know it, just like everyone else in this town.  
  
I just hope that Luke plans something out of town - WAY out of town, like in another country or something. 


	2. Author's Note

A/N: My apologies to everyone for not updating this fic. I've been crazy- busy writing 'The Road Less Traveled' - and now that it's finally complete (all 24 chapters!!) I'll get back to this story. So stay tuned, I'll be back!!!!  
  
Thanks!  
  
Lukerules.. 


	3. Date Night Chapter Two

TITLE: "Date Night or Friendly Fun?" NAME - Lukerules SPOILERS -Up to the current show SUMMARY - Keiyra's challenge: Write a scene with Luke and Lorelai on a date. Requirements: They must talk. They must eat. It must be a relatively one-on-one setting (i.e., no big parties where you can throw a bunch of other characters in the mix).  
  
RATING - PG-13 (language and sexual situations) but will go to R (next chapter) PAIRING OR CHARACTER - L/L  
  
DISCLAIMER -I don't own the characters (pout) -the WB, Amy Sherman- Palladino, everyone else does. A/N: Side note: Awin: their date is 'tomorrow night' (i.e., Saturday) - tonight they are going to the grandparents for the regular Friday night dinner. Thanks for the review (and keep 'em coming!) Sorry it's taken so long for this chapter - I had been working nonstop on 'The Road Less Traveled' (please R/R!) and didn't get back to this until now!  
  
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Chapter Two  
  
"Roooooooory!!" Lorelai bellowed from the back of her closet, her room looking like a bomb blew up in it.  
  
"Yes, mother, dear?" Rory asked with a laugh, picking up the items that had been strewn in the hall from the bathroom into her bedroom. "Is there a clothing problem, or are you redecorating the floor?" she laughed.  
  
"Very funny! You're hilarious!" Lorelai huffed as she walked out of the closet in her bra and panties holding a mismatched top and skirt. "What the hell am I going to wear tonight?" she sighed, picking through the pile of clothes.  
  
"Mom, you've been up here huffing and dressing for 2 hours now. It's a date with Luke, not a debutante ball, you know!" Rory liked to tease her mom when she was nervous.  
  
"But he won't tell me where we're going - how the hell do I dress for not knowing where I'm going?" she whined.  
  
"Just wear your black 'goes with any occasion' dress - it looks great on you," Rory said simply, pulling the dress out of the closet. "And it goes with your 'come and get me' black underwear that you're wearing," she teased.  
  
"Hey! This is not my 'come and get me' underwear!" she protested.  
  
"Uh-huh, sure they aren't," Rory quipped back.  
  
"Okay, conversation over now. This is going to an uncomfortable place," Lorelai smirked.  
  
"You started it by wearing that underwear!" Rory answered, heading back downstairs to her room.  
  
Lorelai came downstairs at exactly 7:00 and twirled in front of Rory. "You look great!"  
  
"Thank you, my dear daughter. Now where the hell is he? Luke is never late!"  
  
"Yeah, but you are, so I bet he's just going to assume you wouldn't be ready at 7:00 so he'll come later than 7:00," Rory explained rather mechanically.  
  
"But I AM ready at 7:00! Do you think he would assume that?" she started to question herself.  
  
"Mom, it's Luke. Luke! He knows you very well. Very, very well. He knows you're never on time for anything!"  
  
"Maybe he's changed his mind. Maybe he decided that this was a bad idea. Maybe he got in an accident on the way here. Maybe he met someone else, some blonde bimbo named Bambi between the time he asked me out until now and he's out with her right now. Maybe."  
  
Fortunately for Rory, the doorbell rang mid-rant and both Rory and Lorelai ran to get it.  
  
"Thank GOD you didn't ditch me for Bambi!" she said dramatically with relief. Rory just rolled her eyes at her crazy mother.  
  
"Hey Luke, you two have fun!" she said, heading back to her room.  
  
"You ready to go? And who is Bambi?" Luke said, looking confused.  
  
"Ah, nothing, nobody. Don't worry about it," she smiled nervously.  
  
The both got into his truck and headed out of town. "So, where are we going?" Lorelai asked with curiosity.  
  
"Juice bar and batting cages, does that work for you?" he said with a little snicker.  
  
"Ah! A patented Luke Danes date?" she said using air quotes. They both laughed. It felt like the tension in the truck lightened a little.  
  
They pulled into a familiar restaurant and Lorelai laughed. "Soup Plantation?" she smacked Luke's shoulder.  
  
"What? Rory told me that you love this place," he explained, confused that she seemed disappointed. He got out of the truck and went around and opened the door for her.  
  
"Rory told you that we went here? Oh! She is SO dead! I told her that you would be upset with us if you heard we went here!" she said, loosing her breath in the process.  
  
Luke laughed. "Yeah, well, I've been here myself a couple of times and I like it. I know it's not fancy or anything, but an all-you-can-eat place is perfect for you, and a not-too-snooty place suits me just fine. Besides, they have a liquor license."  
  
"A huge plus in my world," Lorelai interrupted. "Let's go!" she said and looped her arm through his.  
  
They had to wait for a table so they grabbed two seats at the bar. Lorelai ordered a martini and Luke ordered a beer. Lorelai pulled over the dish of pretzels and started to snack on them. "Are you going to leave any for me?" Luke teased.  
  
"Since when do you eat junk food?" she teased back.  
  
"Since I started going out with you," he said with a laugh and pushed her hand away from the bowl and grabbed a handful of pretzels.  
  
Lorelai looked at him thoughtfully, tilting her head. "So we're going out?" she asked quietly.  
  
Luke looked around, then nervously met her gaze. "Um, well, it sure looks that way, I mean we're out, and we just started our date, so we are kind of going out." he stammered.  
  
Lorelai sensed that he wasn't going to talk his way out of his embarrassment and put her hand on his arm gently. "It's okay, I was just teasing," she said with a warm smile. She held her glass up. "To our first date," she said toasting his beer glass.  
  
"I should have been able to tell you were teasing, huh? I guess my Lorelai seriousness-detector isn't working tonight," he said with a small smile.  
  
"Ahhhhh.you really should get that fixed," she said with a smile. A small silence engulfed them. "So, you said you've been here before?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, well, Nicole liked the variety of salads here, so we came here a lot when we weren't in the city," he stated simply. He didn't want to talk about Nicole, but knew that Lorelai would pester him if he didn't tell her who he went there with.  
  
"Oh," she said and pulled her hand from his arm.  
  
"I see I broke the rules again," he said sheepishly.  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about?" she asked.  
  
"You remember? You told me that other women don't exist during a first date. And there I go bringing up Nicole," he explained, reminiscing of that night after the inn caught fire when she slept in his bed. He didn't want to wash those sheets after that night because they smelled just like her. A flash of having her in his bed again went through his mind and he tried to shake it off. He could hear her saying 'dirty!' in his mind and grinned at it.  
  
Lorelai dismissed the comment. "Oh please, it's not like we're REALLY on a first date. I mean, we know each other really well, it's not as though we've just met and need to find out if we fit." she said leading off, cursing that she let her mouth run away with her again.  
  
"So? We, um, fit?" he teased, then blushed at the implication that Lorelai would surely read into it.  
  
"Dirty!" she laughed, putting her hand back on his arm. They both felt a tingle and looked down at her hand on his. As they both looked up, their eyes locked on each other's. Luke placed a tentative hand on the side of Lorelai's face and leaned in ever so slightly. He remembered when he tried to kiss her the night they were deciding on colors to paint the diner. He remembered how she then pulled away, ran away from him, frightened. He didn't want that to happen this time. He leaned in towards her a little bit further and gently touched his lips to hers. A surge of electricity went through them both. Lorelai moved her hand from his arm and reached around his neck, pulling him closer as she deepened the kiss.  
  
When they pulled apart, Luke's brain was in a full scale internal battle. ~Should I apologize? Did she like it? What now?~ Lorelai answered his questions and called off the war when she ran her hand affectionately across his cheek.  
  
"Yeah, we fit," she said softly, leaning towards him to kiss him gently before putting her arms around his neck in a hug. Luke instinctively put his arms around her waist, breathing her in.  
  
They were interrupted by the hostess who cleared her throat loudly. "Sir, we have a table ready," she said stiffly.  
  
"Oh, um, sure, sorry," he stammered, throwing a bill on the bar to cover the drinks. Lorelai looked at him with amusement as his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "Stop it," he growled, narrowing his eyes at her, but was unable to hold his serious face and smiled at her.  
  
They sat and ordered another round of drinks then set about the buffet table. Of course, Luke went after the salads and healthy options while Lorelai looked to see if she could consume all things fried or covered with gravy. When they sat back down they scrutinized each other's plates with disdain. "Ew," Lorelai said almost immediately. "What's with all the green stuff?"  
  
"It's called lettuce, it's a vegetable, you should try it some time," he teased, making a face at her food. "Now about your Kentucky fried dinner there." he started.  
  
She held her hand out to stop him. "Don't start the guilt-fest, Luke, you know this is how I like to eat," she said a little defensively.  
  
Luke took her hand in his. "Yeah, but maybe I want to be sure that you're around a little longer than I did before," he said quietly and Lorelai couldn't help but notice his eyes were softer as they looked back at her.  
  
"Wow, um, thanks," she said with a little blush, looking down at her plate. Luke was in shock. He finally got her to be quiet! Luke couldn't believe it - who would have thought it was possible. What was it that he said to Lorelai that time that Kirk wanted to ask her out? Oh yeah, 'we decided that there was nothing like some good loving to shut a person up.' Funny. ~I'll have to try that theory~ he thought.  
  
Okay, so is it cute? Not cute? Boring? Stupid? Too rushed? Too slow? Don't worry, I'm heading for the 'good stuff'.patience, grasshoppers! 


End file.
